Biden on SDFD crew injured en route to NC for Helene aid: ‘It was a bad accident’

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — President Joe Biden offered sympathies to the San Diego Fire-Rescue search and rescue team members who were injured in a serious crash while heading to North Carolina to assist in Hurricane Helene relief efforts during an address Monday.

While speaking on where relief efforts currently stand , the president described the collision as a “terrible car accident.”

According to city officials, three SDFD members sustained varying degrees of injury in the two-vehicle crash just before 3 a.m. Sunday on East Highway 20 near the Texas-Louisiana border. Further details about what led up to the collision remain unknown.

“One of the brave teams that has volunteered to be there is from San Diego [Fire-Rescue] Department, set to travel all the way from California to North Carolina to help. But on their way, they were in a terrible car accident,” Biden said during his address Monday.

“We pray for their full recovery, but it was a bad accident,” he continued.

SDFD deployed its Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) team to North Carolina on Friday , less than 24 hours after Helene began its deadly march up over the southeast, to aid in the state’s recovery in areas overwhelmed by floodwaters.

The task force, which is made up of over 30 team members from SDFD and other fire departments in the county, was headed to Charlotte by driving in order to bring along specialized rescue equipment.

Millions of people across the six states hit by the hurricane remain without power, while hundreds of families remain trapped by the floods and its decimation of roads and other infrastructure. A number of water rescues have been made since the storm struck.

As of Monday, officials estimated over 100 people were killed in Helene’s onslaught and its aftermath, a number that is expected to continue rising as recovery efforts continue. According to Biden, hundreds of people still remain unaccounted for amid phone service outages.

Biden described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said he would visit the area this week as long as it does not disrupt rescues or recovery work during his update Monday. He said the administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.

Above: President Joe Biden’s full remarks on Sept. 30 regarding Hurricane Helene response.

Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. As it weakened, the storm quickly made its way through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rain that overwhelmed creeks and dams.

According to local officials, San Diego’s US&R task force is currently being held in Texas awaiting orders on whether it is still needed on the ground to aid in storm recovery.

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